Facsimile recorder of the stylus type



Nov. 26, 1957 A. G. COOLEY FACSIMILE RECORDER OF THE STYLUS TYPE 4 Sheets-Sheet l e a e K a e/ w 5 |nn |nu MH n lnnnu 5 Original Filed Nov. 6, 1952 I JNVENTOR. G. GOOLEY Nov. 26, 1957 A. G. COOLEY FACSIMILE RECORDER OF THE STYLUS TYPE Original Filed Nov. 6, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 22 (MAGNET) INVENTOR. A. G. COOLEY i m Nov. 26, 1957 A. G. cooLEY FACSIMILE RECORDER OF THE STYLUS TYPE Original Filed Nov. 6, 1952 4 Sheets-Shget 5 INVENTOR. LG COOLEY BY QM Nov. 26, 1957 A. G. COOLEY 2,814,547

FACSIMILE RECORDER OF THE STYLUS TYPE Original Filed Nov. 6, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 T: a b

INVENTOR. A. G. COOLEY imam United dtates Patent FACSIMILE RECORDER 0F THE STYLUS TYPE Austin G. Cooley, New York, N. Y., assignor to Times Facsimile Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York 8 Claims. (Cl. 346-74) This invention relates to a continuous facsimile recorder of the endless carrier band or belt type utilizing a recording medium in the form of a sheet or continuous web. The present application is a division of my prior application Ser. No. 319,021, filed November 6, 1952, a continuation in part of my prior abandoned application Ser. No. 157,614, filed April 22, 1950.

Facsimile recorders of this type ordinarily employ a plurality of equally spaced stylus needles or recording elements on a flexible belt or endless carrier Which traverses the styli across the recording web at synchronous speed, or some equivalent drive arrangement. less carrier or belt is supported on spaced pulleys or wheels and driven in any suitable manner. Stylus holders on the travelling carrier must follow the same linear track across the recording area to avoid line feed or irregular spacing between successive recording lines. Heretofore this requirement has not been met satisfactorily and, in practice, in operation at the desired speed, line feed causing visible distortion has been deemed unavoidable. In order to obtain long life without undue maintenance and replacement of parts an endless metal belt of an elastic metal or alloy is preferably employed. In accordance with the invention in order to drive this belt at synchronous speed uniformly and without speed variation, accurately spaced lugs forming equally spaced abutments are attached to the belt and are adapted to be engaged The endby a rotatable speed control member mounted concentric with one of the supporting pulleys or wheels. In the preferred form of the invention, the speed control member engages only a single lug during the time interval that the recording stylus is traversing the recording area in order to avoid any irregularity in the drive when the speed control member engages or disengages the lugs.

In general terms the principal object of the invention is to improve the construction of the stylus drive mechanism to obtain satisfactory recording at high speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a recorder of the character described an improved stylus carrier band or endless belt for supporting and propelling the styli across the recording area.

Another object of the invention is to provide a durable belt construction which will withstand the flexing of the belt around the pulleys and thereby provide a long belt life.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified carrier or belt construction which may be readily manufactured in production and which may be readily replaced if necessary and provides proper indexing of the recording styli without further adjustment or modification.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will ap pear from the following description of the preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a top or plan view of a continuous Web recorder embodying the invention;

2,814,547 Patented Nov. 26, 1957 Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the recorder shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view to an enlarged scale taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are front elevational views of the recorder, Fig. 5 being a detail view of the stylus carrier drive and associated magnetic guide;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the recording paper supply roll and feeding mechanism, illustrating the skewing eflfect encountered with non-uniform rolls; and

Fig. 7 is a detail of the roll mounting bar.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, the facsimile recorder shown comprises a base 10 upon which is mounted a stylus recording mechanism 11 of the currentconducting type in front of the rotatable feed roll 12. The feed roll 12 as shown in adapted to support and feed a sheet or continuous web of recording paper 13 from a supply roll 14.

The stylus recording mechanism 11 preferably comprises an endless stylus carrier band or belt 15 of beryllium-copper alloy, stainless steel or other elastic metal having high tensile strength. The stylus band or belt 15 is carried on or supported by a pair of spaced wheels 16 and 17 so that a straight span of the band is adjacent and co-extensive with the recording area on the sheet or web 13, as clearly shown in the front elevational view, Fig. 4. In this manner the stylus needles 19 on the band are propelled across the width of the recording sheet in succession to eifect recording by current flow from the point of each stylus to the recording sheet. The general arrangement of the recorder mechanism shown, except as described hereinafter, is similar to that described and claimed in my prior Patent No. 2,643,174, issued June 23, 1953.

As described in said prior patent, the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference, the styli 19 are preferably in the form of elongated steel needles or rods frictionally held in a close fitting tubular holder 21 so as to be freely movable into contact with the surface of the recording sheet 13. As shown in Fig. 3, a magnet 22 behind the rear end of the stylus at one side of the web of recording paper serves to retract the stylus to the position shown in dotted lines and thereby lift the tip thereof above the edge of the paper as the stylus commences its traverse across the sheet. After the stylus has cleared the edge of the paper, the stylus is projected forward and held against the surface of the recording sheet 13, for example by magnetic means disposed inside of the feed roll 12. In this manner proper recording pressure is maintained throughout the recording area in spite of friction between the stylus and its holder, wear caused by abrasion at the end of the stylus, and so forth. This feature is disclosed and claimed in my prior Patent No, 2,591,138, dated April 1, 1952. Other means for supporting and indexing the stylus needles may be employed in lieu of that shown herein.

The stylus carrier band or belt 15 is propelled at synchronous speed in any suitable manner, as for example by two separate motors as described in my prior Patent No. 2,643,174 referred to above. As shown therein, the pulleys or wheels 16 and 17 may be formed without sprocket teeth and have frictional contact with the smooth inside face of the belt 15, the wheel 17 being rotated by an over-drive motor 18 tending to propel the belt above synchronous speed. If the wheels 16 and 17 are smooth instead of being toothed sprockets or gears as usual in the prior art, the movement of the belt 15 may be made y speed, the belt 15 is held back by the synchronous r'osmoother to avoid irregularities in the movement of the belt at high speeds which cause chatter or defects in the recording. In order to maintain exact synchronous tating arm 24 provided with diametrically opposite tip portions engaging lugs 25 on the belt 15 as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. The lugs 25 may be riveted to the belt 15, projecting over the front edge of the belt, and serve to index the stylus needles 19 with the required precision with only one of the lugs in contact with the arm 24- during the period when a recording stylus traverses the recording sheet. This minimizes chatter or distortion in recording at high scanning speeds. The synchronous speed-control arm 24 is driven through suitable phasing mechanism from the shaft of a synchronous motor 26, which may also be connected to the shaft of the feed roll 12 through gearing in the gear box 27. The feed roll 12 is provided with a gear 28 at one end thereof meshing with a pinion 29 on the shaft of the rubber friction rollers 30. Alternatively the gear 23 and pinion 29 may be omitted and the friction rollers driven solely by engagement with the recording web 13 and serving merely to hold the web in frictional contact with the feed roll. The phasing mechanism for the synchronous arm 24 may comprise the usual clutch and stop arm as well known in the art, or may be similar to that shown in my prior Patent No. 2,492,621 dated December 27, 1949. The shaft of the friction rollers 30 is supported in the hinged arms 31, pivoted on the axis of the feed roll 12. The rollers 39 are spring-pressed against the feed roll 12 by springs (not shown) in the arms 31 and the rollers can be released manually by raising them off the feed roll by means of the slidable rods 32 or other releasable locking devices. Other suitable means for releasably holding the friction rollers in position may be used, if desired, or suitable provisions made for threading the recording paper 13 through the machine Without lifting the friction rollers 30.

The synchronous speed-control arm 24, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is provided with accurately positioned trailing edges 35 engaging the projecting lugs 25 on the carrier 15, said edges 35 being diametrically opposite and so spaced apart with relation to the spacing between successive lugs 25 that a small realinement gap occurs be tween the arm and each lug as the latter approaches the lower periphery of the pulley 16 in position to engage the arm 24. Thus, as the edge 35 on the upper end of the arm 24 disengages one of the lugs 25 on the stylus carrier 15 as it advances from the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the tension on the carrier 15 from the drive motor running above synchronous speed causes the immediate engagement of the next lug 25 with the lower end of the speed control arm 24. After this engagement is effected, the arm 24 maintains the progressive movement of the carrier 15 at a synchronous speed without any irregularity in the speed or loading of the carrier or drive mechanism (which would cause distortion of the recorded copy) for one-half revolution of the arm 24. In this manner the carrier or belt is propelled smoothly at synchronous speed during each traverse of the successive stylus needles 19. While the carrier as shown has three stylus needles and six lugs, another preferred construction consists of four stylus needles and lugs. This construction is disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,643,173, dated June 23, 1953, and may be used in carrying out the invention.

In the modification shown, a magnetic guide 37, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, is provided for the upper span of the stylus carrier 15 adjacent the recording area on the recording web. Each stylus holder 21 is made of steel or is provided with a steel insert or cap 38 which is adapted to engage the lower surface of the horizontal magnetic guide 37. The guide 37 may be supported in any suitable manner, as for example on the bracket 39, and comprises one or more bars 41 of Alnico or other permanent magnet material U-shaped in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3. These bars form an elongated magnet extending across the width of the recording area and are bolted in place by the fastening means. Obviously, the

stylus holders or caps 38 may be formed as magnets engaging a magnetizable or magnetic guide, which is a mere reversal of the construction shown.

Insulation 43 may be interposed between the magnets and supporting brackets 39, if required, for example in a construction where the magnets are not insulated from the stylus holders 21 and guide 37. The facing strip 45 may be non-magnetic or slightly magnetic, for example stainless steel. However it is preferably porous, for example of sintered bronze, and impregnated with a lubricant. If desired, a lubricant such as oil may be supplied to the porous bearing strip through a wick (not shown) in the conventional way. One advantage of the guide 37 over the ordinary mechanical guide or track is that the sliding element 21 and carrier or belt 15 are constrained positively in a vertical direction without undue friction and this guiding function is not affected by Wear as in the case of the ordinary track guide which develops play as a result of wear. The complete absence of binds and non-uniform friction loading effects a substantial improvement in the recording quality.

In order to avoid the necessity for guide rolls for maintaining edgewise alinement of the paper between the feed roll 12 and the supply roll 14, and to make the ma- Chine more compact, the supply roll is located above and in contact with the feed roll. It has been found the alinement of the paper with the feed roll 12 can be maintained if the supply roll 14 is in frictional contact with the surface of the feed roll, the supply roll constrained against longitudinal movement except for that required to maintain the supply roll in position alongside of the feed roll and finally provision made for maintaining tension continually on the web between the supply roll and the feed roll.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention shown, a supporting bar 48 is inserted in the core of the supply roll 14. The bar 48 is provided with a removable tapered plug 49 on one or both ends. The supply roll is clamped to the bar 48 in any suitable manner, as by means of the plug 49 and clamp screw 50 as shown in Fig. 7. With this construction the supply roll may be mounted on the parallel sloping top surfaces of supporting members 51 and 52 on the frame of the machine behind the feed roll 12 with the ends of the bar 48 adapted to roll and slide on said supporting surfaces. Since the bar 48 is clamped to the supply roll it will turn when the supply roll turns by reason of its frictional contact with the feed roll 12. The friction developed between the ends of the bar 48 or the end plugs 49 and the supporting members 51 and 52 result in the tensioning of the web 13 so that the web is held tightly in contact with the feed roll '12 and is advanced without slippage as the feed roll turns. As shown in Fig. 2, the slope of the supportingsurfaces 51 and 52 may increase as the supply roll 14 is used up and becomes lighter. In this manner the tension on the web is maintained substantially constant or above a predetermined minimum value.

The supply roll 14 is constrained against longitudinal movement lengthwise of its axis by the end plates or supporting members 51 and 52. However, the rolls of recording paper are usually not wound perfectly true and at times one end of the roll may be slightly larger in diameter than the other as indicated in dotted lines to an exaggerated scale in Fig. 6. Obviously this will cause :a slight skewing of the roll since its Weight will hold the lower front edge in contact with the back side of the feed roll 12. The plates 51 and 52 are mounted with suflicient clearance to permit this skewing of the supply roll 14 while still preventing substantial dislodgement of the roll lengthwise, and the only effect is a slackening of,

the tension on one side of the web. When the web straightens out again the supply roll assumes its normal position exactly parallel to and alined with the feed roll 12, and the web feeds properly under all conditions. If desired, one of the end plates 52 may be yieldably mounted on the frame, as by means of the threaded rods 53 carrying wing nuts 54 and springs 55, as shown in Fig. 1. This prevents binding or jamming the supply roll While holding it securely in position.

The recorder shown and described above may be started and synchronized in any well known manner, as for example by use of the synchronous drive and phasing mechanism shown in the prior Patents Nos. 2,492,621 and 2,643,174 referred to above. The synchronous motor 26 may be operated at synchronous speed corresponding to that of the transmitter motor, as for example by driving the motor from the constant frequency source as well known in the art. The drive motor connected to the wheel 17 may be a shaded-pole induction motor or other suitable variable-speed motor normally tending to drive the stylus carrier above synchronous speed and adapted to be retarded by the constant-speed synchronous motor 26 connected to the belt or carrier through the speed-control arm 24. Various modifications in the drive may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as for example connecting the drive motor to the Wheel 16 which also has frictional driving engagement with the belt or carrier 15.

The recording signal current may be applied to the recording stylus needles 19 in any suitable manner, as by means of a contact brush bearing against one of the wheels 16 or 17 where the belt 15 is metallic as described. The ground or return side of the circuit is normally through the metallic feed roll 12 but contacts or brushes bearing against the recording paper 13 may be employed if desired to conduct the current impressed upon the recording sheet by the stylus needles 19.

In accordance with the invention, an imperforate endless belt of substantially uniform cross-section is employed to support and propel the recording styli. The small lugs which project beyond one edge of the belt provide a positive, unyielding connection between the carrier belt and the synchronous speed-control member 24. In this manner the styli are moved at uniform speed with positive drive, and the narrow drive lugs do not unduly stiffen the belt to cause excessive strains to be set up by the flexing thereof as it travels over the supporting wheels or pulleys. The belt may be manufactured with practical tolerances on length of span and spacing of the lugs; then the belts are interchangeable and a worn-out belt may be readily replaced without adjustment of the drive mechanism or re-fitting of the parts which control stylus indexing.

Various modifications in the recorder mechanism may be made, as mentioned above in some instances, since the present invention is concerned with the improved carrier or belt and means for driving the same at synchronous speed. Except for the stylus guide construction, which is claimed in my co-pending application, the detailed disclosure given above for the purpose of explaining the invention may be regarded as merely illustrative of a preferred form of recorder in which the invention may be embodied.

I claim:

1. In a facsimile recorder of the character described, means for supporting a recording web, a plurality of movable styli for recording on said web, an endless metallic stylus carrier band for supporting and propelling said styli, said band including abutments spaced along the length of said band at a spacing of a substantial fraction of said length and projecting laterally beyond one edge thereof, a motor and a rotatable speed-control member driven by said motor and engaging said abutments to control the speed of the band.

2. A facsimile recorder as claimed in claim 1 in which the abutments consist of lugs attached to the outside surface of the band.

3. In a facsimile recorder of the character described, means for supporting a recording web, a plurality of movable styli for recording on said web, an endless or belt metallic stylus carrier band or belt for supporting and propelling said styli, said styli being attached to said band and equally spaced along the length thereof, a motor for controlling the speed of said band, and a rotatable speed-control member driven by said motor, said band being provided with salient means at spaced points along one edge thereof for engaging said rotary speedcontrol member to establish a drive relation between said band and said member.

4. In a facsimile recorder of the character described, means for supporting a recording web, a plurality of movable styli for recording on said web, an endless flexible metallic band for supporting and propelling said styli, said styli being attached to said band, a pair of spaced wheels for supporting said band, an overdrive motor attached to one of said wheels and tending to drive the same above synchronous speed, a synchronous motor and a rotatable speed-control member attached to said synchronous motor, said member being concentric with one of said wheels and provided with a salient tip portion and said band being provided with salient means at spaced points along one edge thereof in positions to be engaged by the tip portion of the speed-control member.

5. In a facsimile recorder of the character described, means for supporting a recording web, a plurality of movable styli for recording on said web, an endless flexible band for supporting and propelling said styli, said styli being attached to said band, a pair of spaced wheels for supporting said band and means independent of said supporting wheels for maintaining synchronous speed of said styli, said means including projecting lugs spaced apart along one edge of said band and a synchronously driven rotating speed-control member engaging said lugs.

6. In a facsimile scanning mechanism employing a plurality of movable scanning elements, an endless band for supporting and propelling said scanning elements, a pair of spaced wheels for supporting said band and means independent of said supporting wheels for maintaining synchronous speed of said scanning elements, said means including projecting abutments uniformly spaced apart along one edge of said band and a synchronous drive mechanism having positive driving engagement with the abutments on the edge of said band.

7. A facsimile scanning mechanism as claimed in claim 6 in which the abutments are equally spaced along the length of said band at a spacing of one-sixth the length thereof.

8. A facsimile scanning mechanism as claimed in claim 6 in which the abutments are equally spaced along the length of said band at a spacing of one-quarter the length thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,135,374 Wheeler et a1. Nov. 1, 1938 2,278,919 Erickson et al. Apr. 7, 1942 2,492,621 Cooley Dec. 27 1949 

